The 20-year-old did not even make the bench for Sunday's 1-1 draw with Napoli but the player's representative, Roberto La Florio, has dismissed suggestions that the Italian is disillusioned with life at the San Siro.

"There is no crisis," he told RTL. "The boy wants to stay at AC Milan and the club want to keep him.

"Football is like episodes, one week you are popular the next, less so. Allegri can make a technical decision and he made it."

The arrival of Mario Balotelli in January has coincided with El Shaarawy's recent dip in form, after a blistering first half of the campaign, but Florio believes that his client's struggles are purely coincidental.

"It is not true that Balotelli has surpassed Stephan; a team consists of 11 players," he declared. "Now that Mario is there nothing has changed, he does not have a different responsibility. It is clear that the press and people who don't follow football may think this."